Supremes Do Something Right

Bob Englehart

This ruling could have far-reaching consequences for government authoritiesranging from your local police department to the National Security Agency.We’ll see how it plays out. It’s interesting to me that even with modernelectronic devices, the basic Fourth Amendment right to privacy, written in1789 and introduced by James Madison, still applies. In fact, the AmericanRevolution was prompted in part by the practice of British soldiers invadingcolonist’s homes searching for whatever they wanted.

My dad used to say, “A man’s home is his castle.” Unfortunately, he used iton my mother and it didn’t sit too well. But, that’s what the FourthAmendment is about:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, andeffects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath oraffirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and thepersons or things to be seized.” There you are, a basic right to privacy.